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Corporate Man is called in to investigate reports of vile, unethical business practices at Great American Business Company. What he finds there just might destroy him (except we all know the ending to The Tragic Death of Corporate Man so it should be fairly obvious that it can't really destroy him, though it can come close).

Enslaved by the Bonus Whores is an all new Corporate Man Adventure Serial. Chapters will post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

After nearly a decade of imprisonment, Corporate Man returns to find the economy in ruins and his deadliest enemies in control of all but a fraction of society's wealth. He embarks upon a quest to set right the wrongs of the business world; a task that will ultimately destroy him.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Chapter 128

5.c.

The offices of
the thirteenth floor were warm and inviting, with rich woods, deep earth-tone
colors, and green leafy plants in stout clay pots. Employees milled about abundant water coolers
while stainless steel refreshment carts, laden with pastries and other snacks,
were wheeled from office to office by smiling attendants.

“Something is
not right,” Corporate Man said, eyeing their surroundings with suspicion.

“What’s
wrong?” asked Senior Executive.

“Look around
you. For an office of IBC Inc. there
sure is a lot of fat. A lot of excess.”

“This is the central office,” said Business
Woman.

“Yes, but
these are still basic subordinates. At
least as far as I can tell. Not
executives. And what are they doing
here?”

“Working. Obviously,” said Senior Executive.

“Are
they? They seem to be milling around an
awful lot. But I meant, why here? In the floor accessible only by secret
stairs?” Corporate Man shook his head
and then bit one of his knuckles as he tried to concentrate.

“Conference
Room A,” said Franklin Buck. “We’re
here.”

They went
inside.

In the center
of the room was a mammoth table with eight black leather folders situated atop
its glossy surface. True to Betty’s
claim, there was bottled water, coffee, tea, and pastries. Everyone made a small plate of snacks and
chose a beverage before sitting at the table.

“Okay this
bizarre,” said Business Woman.

“This is
good,” said Franklin Buck, holding up a small, cream filled cake.

“Are we
supposed to assume that these folders are for us?” asked Demand, his fingers
brushing across the black leather.

“Let’s find
out,” said CorporateMan.

He opened a
folder.

“Good. You’re all here,” a man said as he walked
into the room. He wore a short-sleeved
white shirt with a red tie. “We’ve got a
lot of material to cover and very little time for action.”

He smiled and
his mouth gleamed white.

“And who might
you be?” asked Business Woman.

“I’m
Jack. I run all the meetings in
Conference Room A.”

“Why are we
here?” asked Senior Executive.

“For a
meeting,” said Jack.

“What kind of
meeting?” asked Senior Executive.

“Probably a
very long one,” said Jack.

Senior
Executive pushed his chair away from the table but Corporate Man signaled him
to hold his position. Then Corporate Man
asked, “What are we going to cover in today’s meeting?”

“Good
question,” said Jack. He held up the
black folder and said, “We’re going over the contents of this folder.”

Both Business
Woman and Senior Executive muttered curse words and let their heads loll. Corporate Man opened the folder and read
aloud, “Budgetary Matters. Combating
rising costs in our industry.”

“That’s
right,” said Jack. “Now let’s get
started. Who’d like to read the first
page?”

Senior
Executive and Business Woman slumped and groaned. No one else volunteered so Corporate Man
continued reading, “Rising costs are a normal occurrence in the economy. There is little one can do to lower these
increases but there are ways to cope.
One. Cut down on spending. Two.
Find ways to increase your income.
Three. Invest in a higher
yielding instrument. Four. Control wages. Five.
Minimize liquid assets…” Corporate Man trailed off, shook his head, and
then skimmed over the remaining list reading only the last entry aloud.

“Hedging.”

“Great,” said
Jack. “Everyone, please turn the page
and we’ll jump right in to number one.
Cutting down on spending.”